Gabrielle Giffords is now talking on phone, intern says

by Daniel González - Apr. 2, 2011 12:00 AMThe Arizona Republic

Daniel Hernandez, the intern who went to the aid of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot, said Friday that he has talked to the congresswoman several times on the phone and is amazed by her recovery.

Hernandez said the phone calls - the most recent was Wednesday - have included "short interactions and long interactions."

He declined to say specifically what Giffords has said "out of respect for her privacy."

But, he said, "pretty soon you will be able to ask her yourself because she's just doing extremely well and recovering very quickly."

Giffords was critically wounded 12 weeks ago today, when a gunman opened fire at a constituent event north of Tucson. Six people died and 12 other people were wounded in the Jan. 8 massacre.

Giffords' recovery has been the subject of national interest. Her doctors at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, where she is undergoing rehabilitation, have said she is making significant advances in speech, motor skills and life skills. She began speaking two months ago, asking for more toast with her breakfast.

C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Giffords who was in Houston two weeks ago, declined to say whether the congresswoman is having regular phone conversations, citing her husband's wish for privacy. But he did point to multiple reports of visitors to Giffords' hospital room from friends, family and other members of Congress.

Hernandez, who was in the fifth day of his internship the morning of the shooting, rushed to Giffords almost as soon as she fell. He cradled her head in his lap, covered the wound in her head with his hand and comforted her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

He said he most recently talked to Giffords and her mother, Gloria Giffords, by phone Wednesday while at work in the congresswoman's Tucson office.